


Swiping Right

by welcometotheupsidedown



Series: In Every Universe - Mileven Alternate Universes [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Happy Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lumax, Madwheeler, Mileven, Minor Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Plot Twists, Tinder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 21:05:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometotheupsidedown/pseuds/welcometotheupsidedown
Summary: Mike Wheeler is 25 years old, and wants to find a girlfriend. He reluctantly tries using Tinder, which leads to him meeting Max Mayfield. Did Mike find the love of his life through a trashy app?





	Swiping Right

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea in my head for days and finally wrote it down all in one sitting. FYI this isn't going where you think it's going.... or is it??

Mike Wheeler swore that he would never do this. Tinder? Seriously? Had he stooped to the lowest level of idiocy? 

Yet, here he was, just as pathetic as ever, single, and swiping right on girls he thought were somewhat attractive. It wasn’t like he couldn’t find someone to date the normal way. No, he’d had his fair share of girlfriends that he’d met at school or when he worked at RadioShack in college. But maybe that was the problem? All of his relationships had followed a similar pattern: meet, go out for a few months, break up. Nothing ever really special.

Mike Wheeler was worried. He was 25 years old, and had NEVER been in love. 

So he was on tinder. Which, to be completely honest, wasn’t looking very promising, even with his expectations for it being so low. 

It hadn’t really been his idea. It had been his friend, Dustin, who had told him to try it. Dustin had met his current girlfriend on tinder and swore by it. Mike wouldn’t have followed his advice, but… he was the only one of his friends to currently have a girlfriend. 

His other two friends, Will and Lucas, were just as single as he was. But they had both been in pretty serious relationships before. Mike felt left out. 

Just as he was about to give up for the night, he noticed one last girl. 

She certainly was different from most of the other girls on the app. Her profile picture was normal, not provocative like most, and on her profile it said, “I like long walks in dark alleys and video games.” And she was pretty too, long red hair and unique eyes. 

Max Mayfield 

Mike thought that this girl was probably the most promising one he’d seen tonight. He swiped right, turned off his phone and rolled over in his bed, falling asleep. 

He woke up the next morning to only a few notifications, mostly texts from his group chat with his friends. Nothing from the mysterious tinder girl. He got out of bed and got ready for work. 

In all honesty, Mike loved his job. He got to literally build video games for a living. Who wouldn’t love that? What he hated though, was the hours. He had a very unusual boss, who seemed to think shoving all of their hours for the week into three days. But on the plus side, that meant he had four days off a week, which did come in handy often. 

Today was Wednesday, his last day before his usual long weekend. 

He greeted the receptionist of the company with a quick “hello” and moved on to the coffee machine in the break room. 

“You and that coffee. I swear you drink more of that stuff in one day than anyone else here does in one week.”

“Lucas. Hey, what’s up man?” Mike greeted, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Not much, how ‘bout you?” Lucas asked.

“Tried using tinder last night. Complete nightmare. There was only a couple of decent girls on there. I don’t know why Dustin thinks that’s the right way to meet someone,” Mike said. 

“Why are you so worried about finding someone all of the sudden?” Lucas asked him.

“I don’t know… I guess, since my sister is married and having a kid pretty soon, I feel behind.”

“Come on man, you know that’s different. She started dating Steve in high school. So if anything, she’s way ahead of the schedule,” Lucas told him. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Mike relented. Maybe he could put it out of his mind. 

He put his phone on his desk and sat down to do all his work for the day, vowing to not even look at the phone until the end of the day. 

Just as he was wrapping up the day, his phone buzzed on his desk. 

Five blocks away, in Max Mayfield’s apartment, she had swiped right for a guy named Mike Wheeler. 

————

Mike finally checked his phone as he was walking out of the building. 

You have a match! 

The girl he’d matched with, Max Mayfield, had already messaged him. 

Max: heyy   
Mike: hello, ur my first match on here  
Max: wow really?   
Mike: yeah lol 

Mike threw his phone into the console of his car and drove the ten minutes back to his apartment before continuing the conversation. 

Max: so u wanna meet up sometime?  
Mike: sure. I’m free tomorrow night  
Max: great me too  
Mike: u know that Italian place on 5th?  
Max: yeah, I haven’t been there though. I heard it’s good  
Mike: I haven’t been there either, but my friend has been there and he said it’s amazing.   
Max: awesome 

Mike talked with Max for the rest of the night. So far, they were hitting it off really well. Maybe Dustin wasn’t crazy for thinking tinder would work...

Mike fell asleep late at night and didn’t wake until nearly noon the next day. He didn’t have much to do, so he ended up taking some time to call his sister, Nancy and watch a few episodes of The Office. 

At 4:00pm, Mike’s group chat began buzzing. 

Dusty: hey guys wanna hang tonight  
Lucas: yessir what’re we doing  
Mike: can’t got a date tonight   
Dusty: Michael you stud!  
Mike: ha. ha.   
Dusty: is she from tinder???????  
Mike: yes  
Will: so many question marks   
Lucas: go mike  
Dusty: well u have to keep us updated. So we can make fun of you:))))  
Mike: I think not  
Dusty: yessir you’re doing it  
Mike: stoooop

Mike threw his phone onto the couch beside him. Sometimes he hated his friends, but then again he knew they were just messing with him. If he found love, they would be happy for him. 

He took a shower and began getting ready for his date. Dressed nicely, but not overly fancy, he grabbed his keys and went out to his car. 

The drive wasn’t a long one, and soon he was standing in the entrance of the restaurant, looking for a girl with red hair. He spotted her at the bar, waiting for him. 

“Hey,” he said as he walked up to her. “I’m Mike.” 

“Hi, oh my god! You’re so tall!” Max said, standing up and shaking his hand. 

“Yeah, 6’3”. You wanna get a table?” he asked.

Max nodded. 

————

Mike had been on this date for nearly two hours, and he had learned a lot of things about Max Mayfield.

She really likes skateboarding. 

She works in marketing. 

She’s hilarious. 

But she is so not his type. 

Don’t get him wrong, Max is a really great person, and he really wants to hang out with her more, but he just doesn’t feel that way about her. She would make a great friend, and would fit into their friend group really well. But Mike knows, even more with each minute he sits there with her, he’s not romantically attracted to her. 

He just hopes she feels the same. 

“So what about dating and stuff? You ever been in love?” Max asked.

“No, I’ve been in several failed relationships and I wasn’t in love with any of them. Guess I’m just not made for the dating scene,” he answered.

“You’ll meet someone who makes you feel special,” Max said. “But it’s not me.” Good, they were on the same page.

“Sorry,” Mike responded. “You’re great, but I think we should be just friends.”

“Agreed. I’ve got an idea though.”

“What?”

“My roommate is very single, and gorgeous by the way. I think you two would get along great,” Max told him. 

“So you want to set me up?” Mike almost laughed. His date wanted to set him up with her roommate. 

“Yes, but with one condition… You set me up too.” Max took a drink. 

“Okay, deal.” Mike didn’t know why he’d been so quick to agree. But his immediate thought was that Lucas would be perfect for this girl. 

They shook on it. 

————

Dusty: how was the date Mikey   
Mike: good but we’re just gonna be friends  
Dusty: seriously? No juicy details at all???  
Mike: nope we r friends now tho  
Will: sorry mike  
Mike: it’s okay, she’s setting me up with someone else  
Lucas: Wait seriously?  
Mike: yep speaking of set ups...  
Lucas: god NO  
Mike: YES   
Lucas: Mike I swear  
Dusty: mike add her to the chat!!!  
Mike: okay   
(Mike has added Max to the group chat)  
Mike: Max, these are my friends  
Max: sup nerds   
Dusty: heyy there  
Will: hi  
Lucas: hello  
Mike: soo guys we’re having game night at my house Saturday 

————

“Why are you making me go to this?” El asked, grabbing her jacket as Max hurried her along. 

“Because I made some new friends and you need some more social interaction,” Max told her. 

“Hey I have enough social interaction!” El whined, as Max pushed her out the front door of their apartment and turned the lock with her key. 

“Work doesn’t count, Ellie. Besides, it’s a bunch of guys, so maybe you’ll meet someone.”

“Isn’t this the really bad tinder date’s game night?” El asked, as they began walking out to the car. 

“It wasn’t bad! We just weren’t... right for each other. I don’t know how else to put it,” Max answered. “He’s cool though. You’ll get along pretty well, I think.”

Max started the car and began driving to Mike’s apartment. 

————

Mike was in the middle of setting up his gaming consoles when he heard the doorbell ring. 

He moved from his spot on the floor and walked over, opening the door. 

“Hey! Max! You’re early! I thought you were the pizza,” Mike said, moving to let her and her friend in. 

“Mike, this is El. El, Mike.”

“H—Hi,” El stuttered. Max grinned wildly from behind her friend. 

Mike couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Because not only was El absolutely gorgeous, but her cute little stuttering voice? She was the most adorable person he’d ever met. 

“Hi, um, pizza should be here any minute. You guys can, um, hang out in the living room. No one’s here yet.” 

El and Max walked in and sat on the couch as Mike continued with last minute things, waiting for the others to arrive. 

“That is the bad tinder date? Seriously?” El whispered. 

“Yes, why?” 

“He’s just, he seems great...” El mumbled, hating how transparent she was when it came to her feelings. 

Max chose to ignore the weight of El’s words. “I did say he was a good guy. We make better friends is all.” 

El nodded and returned her gaze to the boy in question. 

Fifteen minutes later, the other guys finally made it. 

“Hey! You’re late!” Mike yelled as they came in. 

“Only by like five minutes,” Lucas rolled his eyes. 

“Sorry, Mike,” Will said. 

“Guys, this is Max and El,” Mike gestured to the girls, taking notice of how Lucas looked at Max. 

The group got along very well. In fact, they had been hanging out for hours before anyone bothered to look at the time. 

“So, you actually create video games for a living?” El asked Mike. They sat side by side on the couch as their friends continued playing various games and eating pizza. 

“Yeah, it’s really fun and I only work three days of the week,” Mike answered. 

“That’s awesome. My job is a little boring compared to that. I’m a high school guidance counselor,” El said, taking a drink of coke. 

The conversation between them seemed to just flow well. It felt so easy and perfect. 

“THAT’S RIGHT. YOSHI WINS AGAIN!” Dustin shouted. 

“You wanna go talk out on the fire escape? It’s getting a little loud in here,” Mike suggested. 

El nodded and they made their way out to the fire escape.

“I like to come out here to think a lot. I don’t know, I guess it’s just calming. The street noise.... never really thought I’d settle down in Indianapolis, but here I am...” Mike said. 

“I grew up in Chicago,” El spoke. “I’ve always lived in the city. I always imagined moving to a small town someday, but... maybe someday, you know?”

“Yeah... when did we all become adults? It feels like yesterday I was a kid riding my bike all over town, and now I have an apartment and this whole life. It’s crazy. Now my sister is married and she’s having a baby, it’s really putting pressure on me to get it all together,” Mike said. 

“I get that. Well, not the same way, but I feel pressured by my dad. I’m his only kid, so I’m his only shot at grandkids and stuff like that.... it really is very calming out here,” El smiled at Mike. 

Something in the atmosphere shifted, and Mike felt a force pulling him towards El, like gravity. 

El felt it too. And her heart began to beat a little bit faster. 

Mike reached his hand and grabbed hers, leaning his head down to touch El’s forehead. 

The gravitational pull continued to bring them even closer, their bodies almost touching and they were breathing the same air. 

And then they were kissing, and it was unlike any other kiss either of them had shared with anyone before. It felt perfect, like they were two pieces of the same puzzle. Mike, who’d never felt love for a woman before, felt his heart swoop in his chest, an experience he’d never felt with anyone before. El, who had always shied away from relationships and fears, felt warm in a way she’d never quite known. It was like coming home. 

————

Ten years later, Mike Wheeler laid in his bed admiring his beautiful wife, who was asleep after a long day of wrangling their two children. 

The quiet sounds of Hawkins, Indiana having the same calming effect that the fire escape from all those years ago had had. 

“I love you,” Mike whispered to his already asleep wife. He didn’t need an answer back. He already knew that she loved him too. 

Who knew that all this could come from a tinder date?

**Author's Note:**

> I really liked writing this one, please let me know what you thought in the comments!


End file.
